A DINER was lucky to escape serious internal injuries after chomping on a knife tip as he sank his teeth into a slice of chocolate cheesecake at a four star Chester hotel.

Mike Field was attending a Chester Business Club dinner at The Queen Hotel with former BBC correspondent and Tatton MP Martin Bell as guest speaker, when he felt the blade between his teeth.

The incident has been reported to Chester City Council’s environmental health department who are investigating.

Mr Field, of Guilden Sutton, who has not had an apology from the company, said: “I tried to bite into the chocolate and realised there was something hard and I spat it out – and this was at a black tie dinner.

“It was the end of a paring knife and almost an inch long,” he added: “I was aghast that a hotel of that nature could serve up a piece of cheesecake with large piece of metal inside.

“If I had swallowed it, it would have ripped my insides. It would have caused severe lacerations, I dread to think.”

Mr Field, who was accompanied by his partner Dr Eileen Smith, a chemist, said people on his table, who included former Chester mayor Hugh Jones, were also “shocked”. Other guests included Bob Williams, chief executive of Chester, Ellesmere Port and North Wales Chamber of Commerce and Lib Dem county Cllr Sue Proctor.

The company director asked to speak to hotel general manager Simon Williams, himself a member of the business club, but was told he was not on duty and instead informed a junior manager and left his contact details.

General manager Mr Williams said the hotel had informed the environmental health department and there had been a full investigation, including with the local bakery which supplied the cheesecake and “all practices were as they should be”.

He added: “The gentleman only made the duty manager aware of what had happened at the end of the evening, an hour-and-a-half after he had allegedly bitten into the edge of the knife.

“He carried on eating the rest of the dessert and had coffee, sat through the speeches and mentioned it as he was leaving the building. It’s very peculiar.”

Mr Williams said he had attempted to make contact with Mr Field but he had been on holiday. The manager said he was “very happy” to talk to him but was unwilling to apologise.